Trials of Us
by royal-chandler
Summary: A collection of John and Kate stories, short ones and drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, no copyright infringement intended.

A/N: I'm currently completely a prompt for livejournal so these chapters are the individual prompts.

**PROMPT: SCAR**

One night, Kate finds John gazing intently at his reflection in her compact that had survived the launch of nuclears. He seems absolutely mesmerized, a million years away. At the threshold of the door, she almost teases him about vanity. However, when she peers closer, she catches him brush his fingers against raised flesh on his face. Two lines that merged into one while going south. Since getting the scars, John has never given any sign of disdain toward them and Kate hadn't expected him to. Scars decorated his back, arms and legs even, various shapes and designs that told countless stories. From his days as a young boy falling out of the sandbox to the man he is now, cuts and scratches are an unfailing part of their lives. Scars remind them of survival. Living through the pain and moving on.

Kate crosses into the room and takes a seat on the bed beside John, her outer thigh brushing his own. She doesn't speak, instead waits for him.

He snickers at the sight of himself, "Our kid's gonna be so fucking scared of me."

_Oh, now things make sense_, Kate thinks to herself. "John, you know better."

"It's hideous."

"It's not."

"How can you—"

She doesn't let him finish. Grabbing the compact from his hand, Kate sets it on the mattress. She touches his face with no hesitation because in her mind there is no difference. She finds his eyes and instantly there's that connection—that unexplainable frequency that happens every time. Somehow they create God and in turn are granted their own little world. She strokes his jaw, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that scar tissue is just tough skin? John, our child is going to love you no matter what. He or she will love you because of that scar, the same way that I do. Its strength and sacrifice that marks your face and you should know that," she grins at him teasingly, "Plus, isn't there some adage about men and battle wounds?"

John gives her a small smile, skin wrinkling around his eyes, "I'm being stupid, aren't I?"

She kisses the scar etched into his face, laughs lightly against it, "Ridiculous," breathes him in, "Human and it's allowed."


	2. Chapter 2

**PROMPT: JEALOUSY**

Sometimes Kate forgets about her and John being kismet and the whole shebang. Sometimes she's in the now and for a few moments, they're a regular couple. In the beginning, they'd exchanged likes and dislikes. In the intermediate, she'd learned who John is as a person, his fears and motivations. Finally, she knew love. They continue to lean on each other for support, share secrets, rid of facades and allow the other in.

In the harsh times of war, Kate knows that she's John's pillar. She understands that and undoubtedly cherishes it. Their relationship is far from average but it's beyond doable. Calming him, advising him and loving him are the easiest things in the world. John always tells her that it takes a strong woman to lead, his own little way of complimenting her. However, it's the simple things that undo her and leave her at a loss.

On her way to the medbay, she hears laughter, real laughter and recognizes it immediately. There's no mistaking that it's John. She expects to find him with Barnes or one of the guys, sharing some joke. _Blair is the one cackling in_. Okay so it's not exactly a cackle but right now that's how Kate interprets it. She stands far away but not out of earshot.

John makes motions with his hands, frequently throws out "Superman", "Batman" and some penguin named "Penguin". Blair nods with an admiring smile and Kate feels a twist in her stomach. It's not the first time that she's felt left out. John and Blair are always making conversation about arcade games, action movies and whatever else that had in common but never on such a public display. Kate knows it's nothing but it's also _so_ _much_. Much causes her to wonder about 'what ifs'.

What if there hadn't been a Skynet?

What if it hadn't been John and Kate: Legendary Leaders but John and Blair: Dynamic Duo?

Kate suddenly feels like the princess that John has always affectionately called her. She doesn't get the comic books, growing up on skateboards and bikes, sneaking into R-rated movies, grunge…any of it. Kate did school, read books that didn't have pictures and tried to keep up with daddy's expectations.

When Kate escapes from her thoughts she notices Blair excuse herself.

John's eyes don't follow his friend, instead they spot wife from across the room, "Kate."

He walks over to her and Kate gets a little weak in the knees. Because after all these years? Yeah, he still does that.

He smiles softly at her, "Heading to the medbay?"

"Yeah. Transmissions?"

"Yeah," he lowers his voice, "I'll try to get in early tonight." He winks.

He winks and Kate acknowledges that there's still a little bit of the rebel left in him but most importantly the rebel was in love with the princess.


	3. Chapter 3

**PROMPT: DREAMS**

Post-apocalyptic Los Angeles wasn't much for scenery. With the large span of sand and desert, it seemed more like Nevada than what once was the city of angels, sans the cacti. There's nothing beautiful about it. The colors are brown, red, orange and yellow…lots of hot yellow that burns so hard it stings. There's always a buzz during the day. Tension frazzles the dry air. John waits for the machines to fly over, moto-terminators to zip past and bulky metal to ambush. Like clockwork, the bullets fly and the commotion never seems to end.

It's at night when everything calms down and time stays still. The breeze is cool and the dark blue sky is consoling. John remembers sneaking out of his foster parents' house and spray painting the walls of the high school with Tim until the sun began to rise. John remembers rock concerts in the park, drums and guitar scattering his heart and taking the pieces on the pattern of the wind. John remembers his mother. He remembers spending late hours with her in Mexico, breaking her out of the institution while pale light filtered through thick windows and that heart-pounding exhilaration of what they had thought to be the fight's end.

Lying on the tarp outside, John feels Kate settle next to him. She drapes her arm across his midsection and fits her head into his neck perfectly. John fingers her deep red hair and the action causes him to catch a hint of her scent. She smells clean, like rubbing alcohol and cotton. Cool and untouched. Absolution he seeks in a war torn world, water to the embers.

"What are you thinking about?" Kate whispers into his chest.

"You," John tells her simply while gazing at stars that adorn the sky. Silver and white mix with blue and black, take him a trance.

Intertwined fingers later, Kate smiles up at him, "The baby kicked for the first time today."

"Yeah?" He's amazed and in awe, regrets not being there. "I'm sorry."

She kisses his apology away from his lips. At first it's a silk slide then it gets deeper. She puts everything she feels into the kiss, every ounce of gratitude, compassion and love. There's nothing to forgive. "I think she'll be doing it a lot more, no worries, John."

"She'll?"

"I have a feeling."

They fall asleep there, only the stars left to surveil them.

John dreams of lakes and rain, chasing after a beaming and carefree wife and a laughing daughter running along a wet shore. The ones that he loves sprint down the dock and jump into the waters, urging him to join them. He doesn't hesitate and just dives.


	4. Chapter 4

Lying on the metal ground, John stares up helplessly. It's the first time that he's looked up with need in years. His eyes shift wildly about, not knowing where to start. He feels disassembled and is in more physical pain than he's ever known. People say that your life flashes before your eyes when death is no longer a strange. All John sees is Kate's smile, the same one that manages to do so much all at once. The curve to her mouth encourages him, makes him feel as though he could fly and the brightness of her eyes always make him strive to do better because in those eyes…he sees everything that he wants to be. Everywhere he wants to be is with her. He's scared. He's terrified of dying, doesn't want to leave her behind, and can't be anywhere that she isn't. Kate's his oxygen and John suddenly senses it slipping away. His breathing becomes shallower when he sees Marcus overhead. He needs to beg for his life, plead with the cyborg to save him. If this is where he dies, he wants to leave Kate behind with words that she'll never forget. He intends to communicate them to Marcus but John only manages to repeatedly gasp when Kate's smile begins to fade.

&&&

Her husband stretched on the gurney before her, Kate struggles to keep the tears at bay. As his heart grows weaker, her own continues to break. It's not the first time that this picture has been displayed in front of her. However, his injuries had never been so severe, death so imminent. She holds his hand, breathes in deeply and smiles bravely, blinking back insistent tears. There was no need to tell him was going on with his body, Kate was sure that he knew. She wasn't the medic on hand right now anyways; she was a wife about to lose her husband of ten years, the father of her unborn child. Together, they'd been through so much but at that moment, Kate felt that it compiled to so little. Since knowing him, she had always had to share him with the world and now he was being taken away from her.

She goes to speak and John quietly shakes his head. There's no need for words. His wet, brown gaze tells her that he'll be okay but he'll need for her to be okay. John reaches for her hand, draws a misshapen heart into the palm and presses a kiss to it. In return, she slowly drops her forehead to his and presses a soft to his lips, not caring about their audience. They could never comfort her the way that John does. These gestures translate into three simple words and are cemented when Kate's tears fall to the bandage that covers his heart.


End file.
